WASHINGTON, D.C. - In an effort to prevent shootings by people with mental illnesses, The White House on Friday proposed two new measures to strengthen background checks on gun buyers to keep mentally ill people from acquiring firearms.

The Justice Department unveiled a proposed regulation that would more clearly define whom federal law bans from possessing firearms for mental health reasons, and the Department of Health and Human Services issued its own proposal to remove unnecessary legal barriers that might keep states from providing relevant information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Both agencies are soliciting comments on the proposals before finalizing the rules.

The instant background check system is supposed to keep guns from being sold to individuals prohibited from having them, including felons, those convicted of domestic violence, and people who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution.

Federal officials say the system has already kept over two million weapons from falling into the wrong hands, but the information it contains is incomplete. According to a 2012 Government Accountability Office report, 17 states had submitted fewer than 10 records of individuals prohibited from buying guns for mental health reasons. Additional records have been submitted over the past year as a result of federal and state actions, but there is more work to be done, HHS says.

“There is a strong public safety need for this information to be accessible to the NICS, and some states are currently under-reporting or not reporting certain information to the NICS at all,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a press statement. “This proposed rulemaking is carefully balanced to protect and preserve individuals’ privacy interests, the patient-provider relationship, and the public’s health and safety.”

HHS said its proposal would modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to allow certain HIPAA-covered entities to give NICS the identities of persons prohibited by federal law from possessing or receiving a firearm for mental health reasons. Seeking help for mental health problems or getting treatment would not legally prohibit someone from having a firearm, it said.

A statement issued by the White House stressed that most people who
experience mental illness are not violent, but said "in some cases when
persons with a mental illness do not receive the treatment they need,
the result can be tragedies such as homicide or suicide."

The Justice Department's revised definition of who can't possess,
receive, or transport firearms would clarify that the terms "adjudicated
as a mental defective" and "committed to a mental institution" would
include people who are found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty of
a crime by reason of mental disease or defect; persons lacking mental
responsibility or deemed insane; and persons deemed mentally ill by any
court.

"We are
taking an important, commonsense step to clarify the federal firearms
regulations, which will strengthen our ability to keep dangerous weapons
out of the wrong hands," said a statement from U.S. Attorney General
Eric Holder.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine had not had a chance to examine the proposals on Friday afternoon and declined to comment on them through a spokeswoman. The National Rifle Association also said it would not comment until it can "review the actual language of these proposals," a spokesman said.

However, the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence welcomed the measures. Its executive director, Josh Horwitz, said they "will go a long way to increasing public safety," but stressed "there is still much work ahead to make sure guns are not accessible to people who are at a high risk of violence.

"We call, not only on the administration and Congress, but also on state legislatures and governors, to pursue evidence-based policy changes to help stop gun violence," said a statement from Horwitz.

This year, a new rule approved by the Ohio Supreme Court went into effect that requires Ohio courts to notify police about mentally ill violent offenders in their communities.

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